Meeting Minutes 10.11.12

NORA Meeting
Minutes: Dr. Garbus Talk

Date:

10/11/12

Start/End times:

5:30pm-8:30pm

Purpose of Meeting:

Dr.
Garbus, president of NORA International, came to speak with WesternU students

Content Summary:

Dr.
Garbus gave an informative and detailed lecture on various neuro-rehabilitative
techniques utilized in his neuro-optometric practice. Topics ranged from
hardware such as the VEP, which provides light stimuli and records brain
activity in response to those stimuli, to eye patching and partial patching
such as taping different regions of the patient’s eyeglasses to assist in
improving visual function. Bi-nasal occlusion is one such technique, as well as
spot patches. He discussed many other techniques, including the use of a Hart
chart which has letters, numbers and direction, to be read or referred to
sequentially as the patient navigates in a figure 8 pattern around chairs. This
is called the “infinity walk” and is both diagnostic and therapeutic to provide
information about the patient’s ability to track and see visual cues and
interpret them while navigating in space. This was demonstrated with volunteer
help from a NORA member. Similar techniques were discussed, in addition to
background information about Dr. Garbus and his wife’s practice.

Exercise
Summary:

Many students stayed after the talk to participate in
an Interactive Metronome exercise. Dr. Garbus discussed the purpose of the
device, to improve hand-eye coordination, and visual timing in the brain. A
photo was also taken with NORA members and Dr. Garbus and his wife.

Announcements:

Annual NORA Meeting in San Diego April 18-21, 2013.

A Continuing Education course is being promoted by
NORA on October 29th, 20125:30 pm - 7:00 pm, in HEC
classroom 1 (upstairs). The event is called “Legally Mine: Take Yourself Off
the Target. Understanding Legal Tools: The Key to Lawsuit Prevention and Tax
Deduction.” This event is free for students, and $25 for everyone
else. We encourage members to promote this event to Health Care professionals
and their spouses, since the topic is beneficial to all health care
professionals. Proceeds fund future NORA events and fund the NORA raffle to be
held before April of 2013.

What our members thought about the meeting:

“I liked how Dr. Garbus made
sure to speak about various branches of Neuro Optometry, from talking about the
various situations where Neuro Optometry is needed, for example in patients
recovering from TBI, to the various diagnostic tools like the infinity walk, to
the different treatment regimes like the interactive metronome.”

-Lidia T.

“I especially liked when Dr. Garbus threw
brains around. I also liked having the
opportunity to speak with him personally afterwards. I am impressed by the fact that he is willing
to dedicate a lot of time to the students.

-Warren A.

“It
was great to be able to learn how to utilize the interactive metronome (IM).
The IM can be used in office VT and at home VT to coordinate the motor,
auditory and visual system together. Definitely something I would purchase in
the future.”